How to Promote Productivity When Returning to the Office
Small businesses around the world have seen a huge change due to the Coronavirus pandemic. There are those businesses that were lucky enough to be able to have employees work remotely. The pandemic is eventually going to come to an end or slow immensely. This will mean that employees will be returning to the office for the first time in months. Promoting productivity is important when you get back into the office as most people haven’t been motivated in person for quite some time. Assess the management styles that each employee thrives under and create a plan. The following are tips to help promote productivity when we finally return to the office.
Revamp the Office
Taking the time to revamp the office can work wonders for productivity. Something as simple as doing upgrades on the bathroom or sink refinishing can make an impact. Employees that enjoy going to work are going to be more productive. You can even change up the seating arrangements to allow for easier collaboration. Employees that see that the office has undergone upgrades might even be excited to head back to the office. Employees have been swamped with responsibilities of being a teacher, parent, and working full-time during quarantine.
Reduce Unnecessary Meetings
Employees working remotely most likely would have eliminated meetings that could have been handled with a detailed email. There are so many meetings where staff are simply wasting time. Meeting once per day for a scrum should be enough unless there are new projects the entire staff is working on. The beauty of sending an email instead of having a meeting is that the email can be referenced by people that might have been out sick.
Time Tracking Software
Keeping employees productive throughout the day can be tough especially with the distractions that social media provides. Time tracking software can help hold staff accountable when they are shopping online or doing other things not directly related to their job. Time tracking might be seen as overzealous by some employees that feel like they are being spied on. The software can provide insight to how long certain tasks take an individual and can provide a baseline for improvement. Training can also be developed from the data gathered as top performers might spend a bulk of their time doing something specific.
Project Management Platforms
There are so many project management tools on the market today that one is sure to fit your business perfectly. Keeping staff on track can be tough if there is not a set agenda for a specific day. These tools can be used to automatically generate an agenda for a particular day. Email notifications make these convenient as you do not constantly have to check the platform for an update on a project. For companies that utilize freelancers, project management software needs to be used for organizational reasons.
Promoting productivity has to be done carefully as pushing too hard can have a negative impact. Take the time to figure out how you are going to implement the tips above to take productivity at the office to the next level.
